Due to a violation of Covid policies, Margaret Ferrier was demoted from SNP whip.A byelection may now be necessary for the MP who waited for the results of a Covid test for two hours in a Prestwick pub. The Commons standards watchdog has suggested that Margaret Ferrier, a member of parliament for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, be expelled for 30 days.
Margaret Ferrier Expelled
If the proposed suspension is approved by MPs, Ms. Ferrier now risks losing her position in a by-election because any penalty that lasts longer than 10 sitting days is subject to a recall petition. A by-election will be held if it is supported by 10% of her voters. The 62-year-old was deemed to have endangered people and damaged the Commons’ reputation.
As a result of her admission that she culpably and recklessly exposed the public “to the risk of infection, illness, and death” as a result of her behavior, the court has already ordered Ms. Ferrier to finish a 270-hour community payback order.
Ms. Ferrier, an SNP MP at the time, experienced Covid signs on Saturday, September 26, 2020. She took a test, but the following day she went to church and had lunch with a relative. Additionally, she spent two hours in Prestwick’s Vic’s Bar while experiencing coronavirus symptoms.
She Broke The COVID-19 Rules
She boarded the train to London on Monday to attend a Commons debate and eat in the Members’ Tearoom at Parliament while she awaited the test results. She learned the result was positive that evening via text. But the next morning, she took a train back to Scotland rather than withdrawing.
Ms. Ferrier was given 270 hours of unpaid community service in September of last year as punishment for breaking the Covid rules. The judge instructed her that this was a direct substitute for custody and that she had nine months to finish the unpaid work. In 2019, she defeated Labour to win the district for the SNP. Following the accusations against her in 2020, she had the party whip withdrawn.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, stated that Ms. Ferrier had violated the MPs’ code of conduct “by prioritising her own personal interest in not wanting to immediately or in London self-isolate over the public interest in avoiding potential risk of harm to health and life.”
The House of Commons as a whole, as well as its members generally, have suffered substantial harm as a result of her actions, starting with when she first took a Covid-19 test and ending with when she finally started self-isolation. This is another violation of the code.
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